Is the Air Quality Good in Washington, Rhode Island?
Yes — air quality in Washington, Rhode Island is good. The city earns an Air Quality Grade of B (good) on a 5-year median AQI of 37, which sits in the Good range, and logs only 20 unhealthy-air days over five years (about 4 per year). The general population can breathe outdoors safely on the vast majority of days.
Who Can Safely Breathe the Air in Washington, Rhode Island?
For most healthy adults, current air quality in this area does not require any change in behavior. People with severe asthma, COPD, or recent cardiac events should still keep an eye on daily AQI alerts, especially during wildfire season. Because ozone peaks in the afternoon on hot sunny days, plan outdoor exercise for early morning or after sunset on bad-air days.
Across the past five years, this area has logged just 20 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 4 days per year, or roughly one every other month. That is a low count by national standards.
Washington, Rhode Island Air Quality Snapshot
| Air Quality Grade | B67/100 |
| 5-Year Median AQI | 37 (Good) |
| Most Recent Median AQI (2023) | 40 (Good) |
| Dominant Pollutant | Ground-Level Ozone |
| 10-Year Trend | Stable (-0.13 AQI/yr) |
| Unhealthy Days (last 5 yr) | 20 |
| National Rank (cleanest = #1) | #324 of 1,020 (32th cleanest percentile) |
| Rhode Island Rank | #2 of 3 |
What Does the B Grade Mean?
Washington, Rhode Island earns a B — air quality is reliably in the safe range for most residents most of the time, with a 5-year median AQI of 37. Sensitive groups will see occasional caution days, but the typical resident will not need to change behavior based on air quality.
Washington, Rhode Island's 5-year median AQI of 37 is 4 points below the national average of 41 — meaningfully cleaner than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within Rhode Island, Washington, Rhode Island's air quality is roughly typical for the state, where the average city posts a 5-year median AQI of 39.
For context within Rhode Island: Kent, Rhode Island currently holds the state's cleanest grade (B, AQI 35), while Providence, Rhode Island sits at the bottom (B, AQI 45).
What's in Washington, Rhode Island's Air?
The dominant pollutant in Washington, Rhode Island is Ground-Level Ozone. Ground-level ozone forms when sunlight reacts with vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. It is worst on hot, sunny, stagnant summer days. Ozone irritates the lungs, triggers asthma attacks, and reduces lung function — even healthy adults can feel chest tightness and shortness of breath after exercising in elevated ozone.
Days by Dominant Pollutant (2023)
| Pollutant | Days as Dominant | Share of Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) | 189 | 53% |
| Ground-Level Ozone | 166 | 47% |
Is the Air Getting Better or Worse?
Air quality in Washington, Rhode Island has held roughly steady over the past decade, with year-to-year shifts in median AQI of less than half a point. That stability makes the city's long-run grade a reliable signal of what residents can expect day-to-day.
In 2014, Washington, Rhode Island posted a median AQI of 37. By 2023 that figure was 40 — a rise of 3 AQI points dirtier across 10 years of EPA records.
Year-by-Year AQI in Washington, Rhode Island
| Year | Median AQI | Good Days | Unhealthy Days | Dominant Pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 37 | 328 | 1 | Ozone |
| 2015 | 42 | 265 | 7 | PM2.5 |
| 2016 | 38 | 302 | 4 | Ozone |
| 2017 | 35 | 312 | 5 | Ozone |
| 2018 | 35 | 311 | 5 | PM2.5 |
| 2019 | 38 | 317 | 2 | Ozone |
| 2020 | 35 | 327 | 2 | Ozone |
| 2021 | 36 | 306 | 2 | PM2.5 |
| 2022 | 36 | 313 | 4 | Ozone |
| 2023 | 40 | 287 | 10 | PM2.5 |
How This Grade Is Calculated
The AirHistory Air Quality Grade combines four signals: the 5-year median AQI (40% of the score), the 10-year trend direction (30%), the count of unhealthy days per year (20%), and the dominant pollutant type (10%). All four come directly from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which aggregates readings from federally certified monitors. Read the full methodology.
More about Washington, Rhode Island
Washington, Rhode Island has an Air Quality Grade of B (good) with a 5-year median AQI of 37. The dominant pollutant is Ground-Level Ozone, and air quality has been stable over the past decade.
This answer pulls from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), the authoritative federal source for U.S. air quality and pollution monitoring. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data, 2026.